Elsewhere in the city, marketing manager Nicole Ho, 33, will have up to nine room-mates in her new home when another project opens, in a converted tenement block.

Stratospheric housing costs in Hong Kong are giving a push in the city to a trend taking off around the world as young people from New York to London to Shanghai struggle with elevated home prices. The city has at least six current and pending co-living developments started after 2015.

Nicole Ho will live in a building around 50 years old in Yau Ma Tei, in Kowloon, converted by Synergy Biz, where a single room of about 400 square feet may sleep as many as 10 people. There are common areas for cooking and socializing and bathrooms are also shared in the development called Bibliotheque. Prices range from HK$3,500 per month to HK$5,500.